Mia's Story
by M. Castor
Summary: Mia, a twelve year old girl, lives with her best friend Seth on a tranquil island. She has everything she needs-a home and a friend. But in the blink of an eye, it all vanishes. You think you have it all figured out, but you really don't.
1. Mia

**My first reborn story of Mia. I hope you enjoy it!**

The humming noise from the hard-working machines north of here wakes me from slumber. I push myself up and glance around the room. Filtered sunlight creeps through the curtains, casting small shadows in the bedroom. My wind chimes outside the window sings cheerily. I slip out of bed, stretch my arms and legs, and push the curtains to the sides. The sun hits my face directly which makes me squint and I immediately move out of its range; the factories' stench fills my nostrils and leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I bump into the desk and sit on it, glancing at the heart-shaped clock that reposes on my night table, it's eight thirty-five already. I dash to the bathroom, yawning as I shake out my hair. At this rate, I'm making him wait, how rude of me. After I get out of the shower, I comb the wet, raven blue hair that merely reaches down to the middle of my neck. Water from my short hair drips onto the floor as I run my fingers through the soaked ends; I used to have much longer hair when I was a child, but it got cut off and now it barely grows. My bangs sit on my forehead, puffing out after I blow dry it and use my fingers to fix it up. While I throw my clothes on, I take a good, long stare at myself in my bedroom mirror. My deep emerald eyes glance at the clock's reflection then at me again, studying my olive skin that's been the retainer for my faded scabs over the years. "Seth is waiting for you, doofus," I smooth out my dress and dismiss my reflection, taking my mom's beach tote from the top step as I descend the steps.

When I finally make it to the populated side of Moonlight Town, I find Seth sitting on the wooden bench, spacing out to the smog-filled sky. I hope he hasn't been waiting for a long time, he doesn't deserve that. His left-pushed, cream bangs are kissed by the soft northern breeze; his milky skin is still tomato-burnt from when he fell asleep on the beach on that really hot day last week. Since I was born here, I guess the sun doesn't bother me much. "Seth, I'm sorry you had to wait," I apologize as I get closer to him. He turns to me and smiles as if he doesn't have a care in the world and then abruptly coughs, wrinkling his nose. I sit down on the bench next to him and apologize again, which he brushes off coolly."That tan isn't going away huh?"

"Don't worry about it," he insists. He has a tepid tone that has the capability of being cold, but he has never used it with me in our friendship. "Did you get something to eat?"

"No, I made palokis* last night for this morning though. I actually came prepared for once," I joke as I look at the pinnacles of the huge chain of factories that are facing us. I notice Seth wincing as the machines hum angrily and release dark grey smoke that gets pushed by the breeze over to us. "Should we head to the beach to eat?" he asks suggestively.

"Sure thing," I agree readily. Both of us rise and take the downhill west path to Moonlight Beach as we do every day. On weekdays, the plaza is practically empty since everyone's out working and at school so we don't have to push through crowds and vice versa. "You still haven't gotten used to all the noise and the smell?"

"No, I can't ever get used to it. Why would they put gross factories on a pretty island like this?"

"I don't know, I never really thought of it."

"And with all this machinery work you'd think this place would be ahead in the industry world, but it's not because everyone buys their weapons and precious metal resources from here and makes the island rich. Meanwhile, Moonlight Town can get rich off of just tourist sales alone."

"I guess," I reply with an indifferent shrug. A boy and a girl in Moonlight Town Academy uniforms snicker as they walk past me and the boy whispers something to the girl's ear. The two 4th levels glance back at me then keep walking, eyeing me hatefully. It's always been like this on this island, so there is nothing to get upset about anymore; I've gotten used to the glares, snickers, and gossiping. But when I was little I couldn't handle it and I couldn't stay in school for long, I had to spend most of the time at the library to have the intelligence of a 6th level student-all they teach are the basic subjects and then they throw you into the factories to work. Seth went to another school in his town where he moved from and doesn't talk much of it. "You okay?" Seth asks me, noticing my slight frown. I nod, humming affirmatively, "Just thinking." Seth shrugs and throws his arm around my shoulders. "Ignore them Mia. They have nothing better to do." It's amazing that he could read my mind so easily and already know what I'm thinking. We've only been friends for a year and he knows me so well.

_Seth came across as aloof at first. He moved from a small, neighboring island to Moonlight Town with his mom and older sister for better job opportunities, his dad was out of the picture completely. Like me, he stayed away from the island festivals and social gatherings and always looked as if he was in his own world, us islanders are suspicious of new neighbors so I knew a lot about his routine when I was out. One day, as I took an evening stroll on Moonlight Beach, I saw him heading in my opposite direction. I figured he had somewhere to go and someone to meet since it had been three weeks since he moved and he probably had made friends already. Then I saw him coming back my way with his head turning in different directions. After he did it a couple of times, it occurred to me that he was lost._

"_Excuse me sir," I tapped his shoulder. Seth turned angrily as if I had called him something derogatory._ "_Are you, um…lost?" I asked, trying to conceal my nervousness. His darkened, beige eyes narrowed at my eyes before he stomped past me. Had he already hated me too, I wondered, fearing he had already heard the rumors about me._ _I was heading home from the beach and decided to take the long way through the plaza. At night, it was full of tourists buying from the shops and native Moonlight Town denizens smoking transcenderies*. People were already beginning to whisper spiteful things while I walked among them. I wouldn't let them get to me I told myself. I spotted Seth sitting on the fountain, counting the pennies thrown in there. He was holding his stomach, keeping his bangs over his eyes so that no one could see his strained eyes._ "_You're okay?" I bent down slightly. He nodded forcefully, coughing a lot too. "Are you hungry?"_

_A firm hand grabbed my shoulder and almost pulled me off my feet. It was an adult who assumed I was threatening him._ "_You know your kind shouldn't be talkin' to folks like that. Gettin' the kid worked up."_

"_I just asked him if he was hungry."_

"_Don't go makin' up stories."_ _That's when Seth surprised me and the man named Clausso. "She's not making up any stories."_ _The man, clearly dumbfounded, took his hand off me and backed away from Seth's menacing gaze. Seth didn't even look at me when he stood up and breezed past us with a vexed pout. I saw him again the next day on my way downhill from my house, still wandering around, lost like a puppy but with a cross expression. When our eyes met, we both became tense-I looked around everywhere but at him and Seth glared as if he wanted to hit me._ "_What're you looking at?" __I dropped my head and was about to just strode away from him, but to my surprise, he stopped me. "_Where's the internet cafe?" he asks earnestly. Hesitantly, I answered him.__

"_It's far from the plaza, opposite from where the factories are. Want-um, me to show you?" he didn't say anything back, but his eyes did read: _yes._ We've been the best of friends since that encounter; later he told me he looked angry all the time because he was trying to remember where everything was and he hated the factory noises which he lives right next to._

I lay on his chest as we take shade under the umbrage of the shrubs and skewed tree trunks that obey phototropism. Moonlight Beach is well known for its uncanny turquoise sand that can't be found anywhere around the world. The waves are at peace as the radiant sunlight beams over us, if the factories were removed this place would be totally beautiful. We finished eating our palokis and now we're just gazing silently at the sea. When I glance up at him, his dark beige eyes are focused on the waves. "Why are you so quiet? You normally are but-" I start to say, but he isn't paying me any mind. He must be thinking about something intense, he looks upset. In times like these, it's best to leave him with his thoughts. He's such a deep thinker, I wish I could be as smart and secular as he is-he told me once that maybe when he's older, he'll run for mayor of Moonlight Town. "I was thinking," he says abstractly, gazing at the crashing waves.

"Hm?"

"How many islands surround this one?"

"I'm not sure," I begin counting in my head. "Seven others, maybe?"

"Are there other islands surrounding them?"

"A couple. There are the Dragonfruit Islands, then Kip's Island…"

"And them?"

I can't keep counting. "I have no idea."

"How many of those islands have you been to?"

"Just this one."

"Haven't you wondered what they were like? How the people are like? The animals and stuff?"

"Well I imagined they would be all the same," I assume as I adjust my bangs while getting comfortable on Seth's polo shirt.

"What if they're not?" he looks down at me, getting serious about this random conversation. _"What if they're beyond either of our imaginations?" _I sit up, taking my towel out of my mom's tote, and shake out the sand from yesterday away from Seth. Then I lay it down and I lie down on it, letting the sun only hit my calves and below. "And?"

"Don't you want to see them?" his tone is suddenly urgent as if it's a life or death question.

"Er, I guess so. Where is this coming from though?"

"From-never mind, you wouldn't understand," replies Seth with a distant sigh that slashes my heart with guilt. I sit up and watch his face go from apathetic to irate. "Help me to, Seth," I request politely.

"Haven't you ever wanted to leave this place? Just run away and never come back?" he gazes at the sky. "Well I have-there's more to the world than these islands. Hell, I'm sure there are other countries or other worlds that are bigger than this smelly place."

"Are you moving or something?" I wonder sadly. That's the only logical reason I can come up with as to why he's asking these questions, or he's going on a cruise with his mom. He shakes his head, continuing his little anti-Moonlight Town speech.

"I've heard stories of other kids being whisked away to other worlds. Why do we still have to be here? I want to venture out there and see what there is to see. Being on this island sucks, the noise, the pollution-I really can't stand it sometimes." I raise my eyebrows perplexedly. What is this sudden spark of hatred towards Moonlight Town? I knew he didn't like it at first but I thought since he had befriended me, those feelings were gone. And then what's this about being "whisked away to other worlds"?

"Honestly, they're just stories to me," I reply truthfully. I've always had an issue with lying, so I never try to lie, even if the lie is comforting. However, the honest answer vexes him further and he pouts.

"I'm tired of people telling me that all there is to life is being stuck on this smelly island. I want to believe that there's more than just these islands and the other ones!" Furiously, he takes off his sandals and stomps towards the seaweed-filled water, folding his arms. Without hesitation, I get off the towel and join his side. Whatever he wants to do, I will do, whatever he believes, I will also. I owe him that much-he took me out of a horrible, lonely house and brought light into my life. "For a while, I've-been missing home a little and before I see it again, I want to get off this crummy island and see other stuff. You get me?"

"I do," I affirm as if I'm making an unbreakable, blood pact with him. To see Seth smirk is common, to see him smile slightly isn't that ordinary, to see him beam like a child on Christmas morning is something out of this world-and he is beaming at me. "Hey, do you want to stay until midnight?" he nods, knowing very well he can't resist being on Moonlight Beach at midnight, that'll restore his Moonlight Town patriotism.

J.G.P.

**Key**

**Palokis- a very chewy bread kind of substance that is packed with raisins and fruits. Moonlight Town delicacy is kinda weird and healthy.**

**Trascenderies- the general term for drugs that make you higher than a spaceship making a trip to Mars. Well it is an island guys.**


	2. The Life That I Know

The reason my home is called Moonlight Town is because every night, at midnight exactly, the moon spills its bright light all over the island, except when it's a new moon-those nights are called Great Black. Seth and I, almost every night, are here on the beach where the perfect view of moon is. It makes the turquoise sand glitter with luminescence. We are lying on the dry part of the sand, overwhelmed with the beauty of the beach. I glance over at Seth, who stares at the moon as if it is an ordinary apple tree. "I used to look at this moon with the same awe that you have. Now all I see is rotting cheese," he nonchalantly comments.

"How can you say that?" I ask astonishingly. "It's so beautiful, the entire island is actually. _O__nly this island_ has this gift. You should, um…appreciate it more."

"You always look for the light in the darkness Mia."

"Huh?" I blush at his poetic statement. He digs in his pocket and takes out a homemade necklace that I made a long time ago. It was connected by a plastic chain and lavender heart dangles in the middle.

"Remember when you gave this to me when I really needed it? I learned from the moment you gave me this…in any darkness, you become my light," he continues, making me feel as though the sun is burning my cheeks. He never opens himself up to anyone like that, including me. "U-um thank you." After a few minutes, the show is over and a handful of photographic tourists and artists leave. The glow grows dimmer and dimmer and then it's nearly pitch-black if it isn't for the torches. The excitement builds in my legs while I take off my cyan sandals.

"Come on, I know you want to," Seth faintly smiles, rises to his feet, and takes my hand. "It's sweaty Mia, you don't need water?"

"Not at all," I smile sheepishly, holding my sandals with my fingers. Both of us take off down the shore, holding each other's hand as every barefoot step makes a splash in the water. The waves are higher at night since the moon is out. Grinning like a fool, I eventually speed in front of Seth since I'm a faster runner. The breeze blows through my hair, making it seem as long as the never ending shoreline. I exhale with a grin; the halcyons make me feel so good when I'm running, as if it's only me and Seth on the beach. Seth's slowing down, signalling me to do the same but I'm ready to keep on running all night.

"We could do this," he starts while breathing hard, "in another world you know." The atmosphere shifts from enthusiastic to austere. We are back in this world where he wants to travel to other places and leave Moonlight Town and all I can do is hear him out. "See each of the stars? They're each a different world to explore," he gestures towards the sky. Now that the moonlight is gone, the stars are fairly visible, some seeming to flicker the longer I stare at them. He seems so determined to do this-it's making me a little unsettled, what if he leaves me by myself here? The mere thought of it ties painful knots in my stomach as he confidently gazes at the sky. "Who told you that?"

"My heart," he puts a stern emphasis on heart and places his hand over his chest, then he chuckles. "I'm kidding, it was something I was trying to figure out this morning as to why there were so many stars in the sky." In awkward silence, Seth walks me home, grimacing at the noisy factories we always have to pass by. I learned to get used to them, why can't he? Did I not acclimate him well enough to Moonlight Town?

"Thank you," I say once I get to my door. Seth nods and starts walking away. "Night!" He waves a hand in response as he leaves me. I sigh-I'm glad he doesn't count me as one of the things he hates about this island. Suddenly, he stops striding and abruptly turns his head to my flowery hedge. He eyes it cautiously. "What's the matte-" I ask anxiously, taking a step off the welcome mat.

"Stay back!" he commands, either to whatever is in the bush or me. He runs over to the hedge and dissects it thoroughly and gives up after finding nothing. He glares at the bush as if he holds a grudge against it. "Thought I saw a shadow," he briefly explains.

"Oh." Relief floods my face.

"Go to bed early tonight."

"How come?"

"Wait and see," replies Seth tauntingly, flashing a confident smirk before striding off. His sandals skid on the ground as he leaves. As I step inside my house, my shoes clack on the white, marble floor. I hurry up the steep, marble spiral steps, clean up in the bathroom I left in a mess this morning, and then fall on top of my queen-sized bed. I lay flat on my back and stare at the curtains swaying in the gentle night breeze; tonight I don't smell the smoke, which means the breeze is eastern tonight. When did Seth even wanna do this whole 'traveling worlds' thing? I will support him of course, but-

My train of thought is interrupted when I visit the memory of Seth taking out the charm I gave to him and saying, "…_in any darkness, you become my light."_ I squeal and thrash my legs excitedly like a hyperactive child then snatch my pillow from under my head and hug it. When he wants to be sweet, he can be the kindest person in the whole world. Even if we were to travel together and meet all different kinds of people, I'd still think he's the most charming and caring person out of all the worlds out there. The next day on Moonlight Beach, Seth announced that we are going to be leaving the island early tomorrow. "What? You're serious?!"

"Of course I am, I wasn't talking crap yesterday. And after last night, well let's just say that I'm better than before and ready to leave this place once and for all!"

"You're moving?"

"No, I'm gonna go out there and see what there is to see and I'm only asking you to join me. Mom is giving tours on cruise ships and Madison practically lives in those crummy factories, they wouldn't notice I was gone," says Seth forlornly. Before I can assure him otherwise, he continues, "I don't want to do this alone Mia."

"You never talked about stuff like that before," I point out sulkily as I notice the rougher crashes of the waves compared to yesterday. The breeze is a bit harsher today too, sand is getting in my eyes. "Now you sound like a Sci-fi person." He makes an annoyed sound with his teeth.

"You're getting supplies today, so don't dawdle around. I'm going to look around for an inexpensive boat that can get us far. I got most of the stuff last night, so all we need are mushrooms."

"Last night? After you left my house?" I don't try to hide my surprise. "You know how late that was?"

"I wanted a head start," he says in a matter-of-fact tone. "So are you doing this with me or what?"

"I'll get the mushrooms but we gotta talk about this after I get back!"

' ' '

At the peak of the day, I am standing on the edge of a rocky cliff. The bottom is swarmed with point rocks dogpiled on each other and stormy waves slamming against the cliff. Sometimes the tide is higher than normal and then the rocks get slippery, which makes it harder to climb down. Despite my horrible acrophobia, I have no problem climbing down to my secret spot unless I look down. I slowly make my way down to the opening below, gripping the rocks and hoping the waves did not reach that high. Once I feel my right leg swing into an opening, I lower myself and swing into the cavern's wide mouth. It's always cool and drafty in here, mushrooms thrive here. This place is my personal cavern that even Seth doesn't know exists. I remember that I would always hide in different corners, stifling my cries so no one would hear me. Some water splatters on my back from the waves as I bend down and pluck the mushrooms in the dark corners of the cave. I pick up the last mushroom and turn red when I catch a glimpse of the same repeated doodle taking up the bottom half of the stony wall. Using the pebbles as chalk, I drew an ugly kélora fruit. I bend down to caress the rough surface, sighing softly. "If you eat this with greed, your very heart will bleed. But if shared with two sides of one heart, you'll never be apart," I whisper the well-known myth behind the fruit longingly. I was obsessed with this fruit when I was little but now I don't care that much about it. It's triple the size of an egg and is a bright green with a bumpy, coarse texture but when you put it in water it softens up and opens up like a flower, revealing layers of yellow and bright lime.

Would Seth want to share it with me? I don't know-guess I'm a little chicken to ask-what if that's the point of all this? To surprise me with the kélora fruit-that's why he wants me to come with him alone. "Shoot! I'm dawdling," I realize aloud, springing up, still embarrassed about my thoughts about Seth. I quickly snatch the mushrooms I just dropped; Seth will be worried if I don't head back soon. As I begin to turn away towards the drawings, something black looms in the corner of my eye. I face the black, arched door with pure anxiety. For some reason, I'm happy that it's closed, but there was never a door there-

_Ever._

I take a backwards step into a puddle, almost dropping the last mushroom as I stuff them into my pockets. Why is that door making me so panicky? "Calm down, deep breath," I soothe myself. Maybe it's just something I haven't noticed before-no one could find this place though. It's impossible, and there's nothing to secure the door into place. Dark orange light spills into the unlighted cavern. It's that late already? I better head back to Seth right away. I take a final glimpse of the door before getting my foot on the rocks outside.

Seth is leaning against a palm tree, with an open, yellow bag filled with kélora fruits, bottled water, and sealed fish cans by his feet. He usually has a pondering countenance, but the shadow the palm tree casts over him makes him looked exhausted. I rush over to him and put the mushrooms with the rest of the goods. "Did you see anything weird today?" he asks with shut eyes. Up close, they seem strained.

"What do you mean by 'weird'?" knots are starting to tie in my stomach.

"Anything that didn't belong. _Like a door_, hypothetically speaking."

"D-did you see it too?"

He opens his eyes and glares at me. "You've seen it?"

"Y-yeah."

He snatches my shoulders unexpectedly and with the harsh breeze blowing his hair around, he looks kinda scary. "Did you open it? Wait, where was it?"

"No I didn't open it! I just saw it in a cave where I got the mushrooms and left."

Seth breathes a sigh of relief, releasing my shoulders. "Anyways, we should go back to-" There is a crackling sound coming from the palm tree adjacent to us. The palm tree leans towards us and wants to obey gravity by landing on top of us.

_Snap!_

My legs want to move out of the way, but I'm frozen like a deer in headlights as it falls. Seth narrows his eyes and throws his arms out as if he's-trying to catch it! "Seth, no!" I cry out. I cover my eyes, in horror-I can't bear to watch Seth get crushed trying to save me. As if my worst fear comes true, I hear Seth grunt loudly. After not feeling pain for more than three seconds, I open my eyes to an impossible sight. Seth isn't crushed. The palm tree is tilted. _Seth is holding the palm tree_. Holding it back from crushing us.

"Get back!" he yells, adding a low groan. With a pounding heart, I run a couple of steps back as he pushes the palm tree back with a forceful grunt. It falls in the bushes with a noisy _doosh, _shaking the ground a bit. He scrutinizes his hands as if unaware of his own strength then clenches them satisfactorily.

"Are you okay?" I run back to hug him. "Don't scare like that, please!" he snorts, weakly hugging me back. Once I let go, I ask worriedly, "How did you do that?"

"A secret," he whispers teasingly. "Come on, let's go home."

He walks back home, never sharing the secret of his awesome power. Seth never showed any display of physical strength when we first met; he never went to the gym or drank protein shakes. His muscles are as flat as mine, so how could he have done something so amazing like that? He gets the door and clears his throat, "I have some preparations to finish at the beach. Tomorrow morning, we'll be heading off to a new world Mia. I know that I've been keeping to myself a lot for the past couple of days, but all that's going to change once we head out. You're the only person kind enough to do this with me. I know this whole thing just came out of the blue, and I know you're frightened-don't be. I'm going to make sure you're safe as long as you're with me. Thank you for believing in me-you're a true friend, which is why I'm only taking _you _to go see worlds. See ya then."

J.G.P.


	3. Goodbye Moonlight Town!

Dumbfounded and surprised by his words, I slowly enter my house and plop face-flat on the lime-green sofa. I'm terrified of what's going to happen tomorrow. But somehow, Seth's speech consoled me; he's so sure of himself while I'm not. The string pasta and shrimp that I put in the microwave earlier is cooling off on the table. I walk over to the long marble table, sit down and start eating. Tomorrow, I won't ever be alone ever again. Seth will be with me and I'll never have to shed a tear in this lonely house again, his idea doesn't sound too bad now that I think about it. It's not like the people like me here so no one will miss me.

I put on my white nightgown and climb into bed, crawling under the sheets. I turn off my lamp and lull myself to sleep with the humming of the loud factories-go to sleep Mia, you have a big day tomorrow, sleep easy. My wind chime noisily plays its song, bringing me to my slumber. _Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Taptap. Tap! _"What's that?" I drowsily mumble as I emerge from under the thin sheets. I glance at the window and see a tree branch smacking it. The raging wind makes the wind chime swing wildly and creates a discordant song. Abruptly, glass shatters and my wind chime drops into my room. I hurriedly hop out of bed and examine the jagged glass on the floor and my cracked wind chime. Light flashes in the distance, signaling lightening. I didn't hear anything about a storm tonight-this is bad._ "__I have some preparations to finish…I got most of the stuff last night."_

What if Seth is out in the middle of this storm right now? Oh no, I gotta find him! I rip off my nightgown, change into my blue dress and slip into some sandals. I run out the door without closing it and am hit with the full force of the howling wind. The sky is pitch-black and the flame lanterns that light the way at night are extinguished. Quickly I make it to the beach and search for Seth's figure in the distance. All I spot is a yellow adventurer bag reposing by the broken palm tree that nearly killed us earlier. I pick it up, tossing it over my shoulders and snatch onto a few twigs in the bushes as the wind rages on. That's when I spot someone standing ever so still at the other end of the beach. "Se-"

My cry is cut short when I hear an eerie sound behind me. I turn to see black, small looking children with yellow eyes and antennas glaring at me. I gasp and start running towards Seth at the shore. As I look left and right, more sky-black children with beady eyes rise from the dull, grey sand. Finally, I catch up to Seth, who faces the raging seas. "Seth!" I scream as I wave my arm. He gives me one look and runs over to the empty docks. "What're you doing?" I follow him with ease, shaking the backpack to lessen the weight. Why didn't he answer me-what's going on with him? Our sandals stomp noisily on the deck. All the other boats that were in the water from earlier are gone, except for one which I assume Seth reserved for us, it looks more like a raft than a boat. "Why are you ignoring me?" I demand as he stands at the edge.

"Prepare yourself Mia," Seth replies vaguely.

"Wha-?" I shake my head, deciding not to question his statement. "Seth, we have to get out of here. Look at this mess of a storm." I grip his hand to try to lead him away; I gasp when my eyes travel to the ocean, as black as this night. I gaze up to find the moon but it is hidden under the pitch-black sky; the stars are nonexistent too. He jerks his hand away from me to my surprise. "No! Don't you understand-now is the time to go see other worlds!" More evil looking creatures summon themselves behind us. We really have to get out of here. "Seth," I cry out frantically. "I'm really scared, we can wait until we're older to do this."

"No Mia!" he yells at me, for the first time in my life, he is truly angry with me. I drop my head shamefully as the wind tosses my hair in my face. He places his hand on my shoulder comfortably and gently says, "Don't be scared. We'll be together." He releases my shoulder and extends his hand out. Instantly, a colossal wave forms in the distance, emitting something sinister. I push my hair out of my face to see him properly. I want to be there for him _always_. No matter what he does, I want to be the rock that supports him. He is the rock that keeps me going every day-I need him. I gradually extend my arm out to his, unsure if I'm ready to give myself to him. The black creatures crawl up on his back, slowly covering his torso while radiating a black aura. "Seth, I…" the boisterous wind swallows the rest of my sentence. Almost there. We'll be together when we go. We'll share a kélora fruit and be together until the end of time. We'll be okay. My hand is almost in his palm.

Just a bit further.

_"Meee-ah!"_ an unfamiliar voice shouts from behind. It sounds heavily distorted, "Meee-ah, n-o! D-o-n't d-o i-t!"

Who is that? I turn away and retract my hand back to look for the person calling me. Nobody there. I face Seth and he has his arm at his side and is covered with more black creatures. The looming wave towers over him and then crashes on top of him, barely missing me. When the tide pulls back, there is no trace of Seth. "Seth! Seth!" I shriek loud enough to make my throat hurt. The pieces of wood that makes up the docks begin to snap, giving away to the strengthening wind. I make a daring leap off the docks and to the grey sand on my stomach. The docks are destroyed right after, tossed into the wind like newspapers. I raise my head and spot a blood-colored sphere with a black core in the colorless sky. It's sucking everything into it, which is the probable reason why all of this is happening. Black creatures encircle me threateningly, following me even after Seth has disappeared. I run to a strong looking palm tree, hopping over them, and hug it for dear life as my eyes sting with sand and tears. "Seth!" I haven't cried in such a long time. My fingertips become bloody as I dig deeper into the palm tree's bark. Gently, my legs start to lift off the ground and dangle in the wind like sheets of drying laundry. "No-!" my shouts are swallowed the crashing waves and howling wind. Each of my fingers start to lose the little strength they have. I have to hold on-I can't get sucked into that thing. "Seth…" I mumble weakly.

The palm tree leans towards the sphere. I can't do this anymore-my fingers are at their limit-I let go. Immediately, I fly upward, getting a glimpse of the entire island. My acrophobia kicks in and l let loose a terrifying scream I haven't heard in years. Tears are pushed off my face with the powerful force of the wind. Seth's genuine grin from two days ago is the last image to float into my head before my island turns into an infinite blackness that no one could escape from.

J.G.P.

**Finally I can be satisfied with this story! Yeah I replaced the paupo fruit with some other made up fruit and changed some stuff around, I didn't want it to be a total clone of Destiny Islands anymore so yeah. More story updates are on the way so stay tuned. Feedback would be lovely.**


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